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Thursday, August 27, 2026
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Govt’s ‘modernising’ One Tax initiative three years in making, says OPM BY FAY SIMMONS TRIBUNE BUSINESS REPORTER jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE DAVIS administration has fired back at criticism of its One Tax Bahamas initiative, insisting the system is neither a new tax nor a surprise policy but a threeyear-old plan to modernise how Bahamians manage their tax obligations. In a recorded message released yesterday, Office of the Prime Minister communications director Latrae Rahming defended the implementation of the government’s new tax platform, stressing that it does not introduce a new tax or increase existing tax rates. “One Tax Bahamas is not a new tax. It does not increase tax rates nor creates a path to new taxes,” he said. “I repeat, to avoid any room for doubt or political
Business chief questions administrative efficiency
LATRAE RAHMING mischief, this is not the beginning of income tax.” Mr Rahming's comments came in response to criticism from Opposition Leader Michael Pintard, who has
One portal could reduce government bureaucracy
Consolidated portal wins cautious business support
characterised One Tax Bahamas as a sweeping expansion of the government's tax administration apparatus and raised concerns over the initiative's implementation and transparency. The government, however, maintains that One Tax Bahamas is not a new direction but an initiative that has been publicly discussed for the past three years. Mr Rahming said Prime Minister Philip Davis announced in Parliament in June 2023 that the government was developing One Tax Bahamas as a unified system for tax payment.
He said Mr Davis spoke about the initiative again in 2024, while Minister of Finance Michael Halkitis most recently addressed it during his 2026 budget communication and budget debate remarks. “One Tax Bahamas is therefore neither a sudden announcement nor a new direction,” said Mr Rahming. “The government's intention to modernise the system has been publicly communicated for three years.” He acknowledged that despite the initiative having been discussed publicly for
Danger of Govt’s ‘weaker fiscal position’ being exposed by accounting switch BY FAY SIMMONS TRIBUNE BUSINESS REPORTER jsimmons@tribunemedia.net A WELL-KNOWN banker has warned that the Government's planned switch to accrual accounting could expose a weaker underlying fiscal position than its current headline surplus figures suggest. Gowon Bowe, Clearing Banks Association chairman, said the issue was not whether the Government's borrowing was being concealed, but how money borrowed and
subsequently channelled to public-sector entities was being treated in its accounts. The latest public debt bulletin shows central government debt stood at $12.466bn at end-June 2026, while debt owed by agencies and government business enterprises reached $2.23bn. Mr Bowe said the Government's treatment of money provided to state-owned enterprises increasingly crossed into the territory of accrual accounting, creating questions about whether the administration was
applying accounting principles consistently. “What is not as transparent, and what certainly requires greater discussion, is the accounting treatment for when government has effectively distributed or allocated these resources,” he said. “Because when they say that they have it as an investment in the investment fund, or they say it's a loan to a public sector entity, you're now crossing into the realm of accrual basis accounting.” Mr Bowe said the Government could not selectively apply accrual principles when
GB Shipyard urgently needs outside labour to meet lack of skilled workers BY ANNELIA NIXON TRIBUNE BUSINESS REPORTER anixon@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama’s skills gap is becoming an increasingly urgent challenge for businesses, with the industrial sector alone expected to need some 1,600 skilled workers for the Shipyard, which is a demand the island cannot meet without outside labour, according to the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce. President Ralph Hepburn said the shortage goes beyond the number of available workers, pointing to gaps in technical training, education and basic workplace skills that are leaving
businesses struggling to find properly prepared employees. “The industrial sector,” Mr Hepburn said when asked which industry faces the most significant shortage. “For instance, the shipyard needs 1,600 skilled labourers for February. There’s no way we can find 1,600 persons for what they need in the entire Bahamas, so judge Grand Bahama.” He said the scale and specialised nature of the demand means immigration will inevitably form part of the solution, particularly because the required certifications cannot be obtained within a matter of months.
TRAINING - See Page B5
Loyal customers keeping ice cream store open during power crisis BY ANNELIA NIXON TRIBUNE BUSINESS REPORTER anixon@tribunemedia.net FREQUENT power outages have forced LonBon’s Ice Creams to absorb higher operating costs, discard inventory and occasionally close its doors, as the South Beach business works to stay afloat through an unpredictable summer. Owner Lonna Bethel said business has remained relatively steady despite the challenges, with some weeks performing on par with last
year and others recording stronger sales. She credited customers for continuing to support the business despite the disruptions. “Some days mirrored last year, and we’ve had some days that were much better than last year, or some weeks that were much better than last year,” Ms Bethel said. “But whatever it is, the business has remained afloat. Again, I have to keep crediting the customers because
OUTAGES - See Page B5
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Banker says Govt loans to loss-making businesses are ‘not recoverable assetts’ Gov’t urged to recognise utility losses State loans may not be recoverable Warns against masking public deficits BY FAY SIMMONS TRIBNE BUSINESS REPORTER jsimmons@ tribunemedia.net
they produced a more favourable fiscal outcome. “We have to be very, very careful that we are not seen to be picking accounting policies or practices for the simple benefit of achieving an outcome that may have been committed,” he said. “To be consistent, it's either accrual or cash basis.” He said a move to accrual accounting would not simply mean recognising more Government liabilities, as the administration would also have to properly account for its assets. “Accrual basis accounting is not saying solely record all your liabilities. It is saying record all of your assets and liabilities,” said Mr Bowe.
A BAHAMIAN banker has warned that the Government cannot borrow money GOWON BOWE from the public, pass it on to loss-making stateowned enterprises and then treat the resulting loans as recoverable assets when there is little realistic prospect of repayment. Gowon Bowe, Clearing Banks Association chairman, said the Government needed to acknowledge the economic reality of its financial support for public utilities rather than relying on the label attached to the transactions. The latest public debt bulletin shows agencies and government business enterprises owed $2.23bn at end-June, up $579.1m, or 35.1 percent, over the previous year. But Mr Bowe said the more important issue was what that funding actually represents, rather than simply the size of the debt. “When we see what is called loans to stateowned enterprises from a Governmental perspective, that is nonsensical because ultimately these enterprises we know have been historically loss-making, and the government has been required to provide subvention,” he said. He said a genuine receivable required a reasonable expectation that the money would be collected.
ACCRUAL - See Page B5
LOANS - See Page B4
ROLLOUT - See Page B4